


Secret

by Evilawyer



Category: Foyle's War
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:31:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilawyer/pseuds/Evilawyer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a world of secrets she will guard from Jackson and all other comers for the rest of her life, but this isn't one of them</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret

Colonel Jackson is, in all the ways that are of any importance in the greater scheme of things, exactly the same as almost all of the men Hilda has had to deal with throughout her life. He is arrogant. He is demanding. He has an overblown sense of entitlement. He is small-minded. His eyes are blind to any long-term consequences that do not result in a direct benefit to himself. Hilda saw all of these qualities in Jackson in those first few seconds when they stood in Sir Alec's office and stared at each other over the fate of a Nazi whom Hilda has turned to Britain's very useful purpose. And to her's.

Jackson the colonel asserts his manliness by blustering that he will visit the wrath of the New World on the Old unless MI-5 bends to his will, but Hilda sees through Jackson the man. The way he asserts, the way he blusters, it goes deeper than his American way of being. It's a bluff, a way to shield a fondness for the intimate company of men. That is the most diplomatic way Hilda can put it. Jackson can think what he likes, but she knows that diplomacy is the very best manipulation tool of all. 

Jackson's poker face is impressive but, while Hilda would never call him on it unless there was more at stake than a single cog in the totality of the machinery she runs, she doesn't miss his tell. She doesn't miss the way he looks at Foyle, either. 

Hilda understands that look. It's not lust. It's not curiosity. It's the look of blessed relief that comes from finding a safe harbor in a raging storm. Foyle disapproves of the moves she make in this game, and he doesn't trust her, but she knows she is safe with Foyle. She can tell from the look in Jackson's eyes as he looks at Foyle across the table that Jackson feels that same safety but doesn't quite accept that he _is_ safe. Feeling and being are worlds apart. 

She and Jackson don't like each other, but they both know that a triangular badge, whatever the color, is no less real because it isn't sewn onto a coat. They've both learned how to hide themselves, and they both know what it feels like to wish they didn't have to do so. 

There is a world of secrets she will guard from Jackson and all other comers for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, as she shares the observation that Strasser is dead, she returns Jackson's steely-eyed glare with a look of innocence that subliminally confirms that Jackson's feeling is correct, that the man sitting next to her would never condemn anyone because of his or her choice of bedpartner. 

In the face of a world that will not accept, feeling safe is a rare gem. Men like Foyle are treasures above rubies. While she would prefer to keep such a treasure for herself, she knows that defeating the Germans hasn't changed the world at all. Changing the world from what it is to it can be will take something other than war. So she gives the silent confirmation to Jackson. She gives Jackson nothing more, however. 

The rest is secret.


End file.
